Nursing News

Celebrating Patient Safety Awareness Week

March 6, 2013 - Medication safety and health care culture and safety are the focus as the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) leads Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 3-9, 2013. This year’s theme, Patient Safety 7/365, reminds health care professionals and health consumers that providing safe patient care requires constant dedication and effort, 365 days a year. The 7 days of the campaign also serve as time to recognize the focused work and efforts to improve health care safety worldwide.

“Patient Safety Awareness Week encourages a sustainable and conscientious collaboration between health care organizations, providers, and consumers,” says Patricia A. McGaffigan, RN, MS, interim president, NPSF. “The week is intended to imprint an indelible statement that efforts toward patient safety must be collaborative and that we must never be satisfied with the status quo.”

Since 2002, NPSF has led health care organizations around the world in this weeklong campaign in educating and increasing awareness around improving patient safety at the local level. This year, in partnership with other organizations, NPSF will mark the week with activities for providers and health care consumers:

And as it has every year during Patient Safety Awareness Week, NPSF recently reaffirmed the Universal Patient Compact, which specifically speaks to the importance of patient-provider partnering.

NPSF encourages creative collaboration among provider groups, patient advocates, and other community organizations during the week to promote awareness. Hospitals and health care organizations, in particular, are urged to plan and support events for staff and patients within their own organizations. NPSF also offers a range of educational and promotional materials, such as posters, tent cards, and buttons that health care providers may acquire to augment their activities.